The Search for Better Council
by The Lime-Wielding Ninja
Summary: For Celebwen Telcontar's challenge: Harry needs more advice on how to save the wizarding world. He needs to be taught by someone with experience, wisdom and patience. His friends are with him. He wishes they weren't. I suck at summaries. I don't own.
1. Chapter 1

The Search for Better Council

Chapter 1

Harry, do you have to go? It's the Christmas holidays soon.

You shouldn't leave, mate, we need you here.

There are far too many Nargles where you're going, Harry. They'll leave you fluffy and mindless for days on end.

If you have to leave, then I won't stop you. But my brother probably will, look out for him.

Have you checked this with Dumbledore, Harry? You really should before you leave; it's always good to consult a higher authority when you go off for a while.

These were the things that Harry had imagined for weeks his friends saying to him as he left for his train to Wales. He'd thought up quite good responses, too, all of them obviously brilliant, if he did say so himself. He'd imagined watching Neville and Ron standing there with hurt looks on their faces, Hermione and Ginny crying, holding handkerchiefs (for some reason, the hankies were always there), and Luna waving goodbye, looking all distant and dreamy.

But these events would not come to pass. No.

The bloody idiots had decided to come with him.

.:. :.: .:.

Now, one might ask right about now what Harry is doing going off to Wales. Well: Dumbledore had announced to Harry at the beginning of his seventh year that his seemingly unlimited sources of knowledge had run dry. Dumbledore could no longer teach Harry how to protect the wizarding world from the darkness. The former then became mildly depressed, and said that there was no longer any hope at all for anyone, ever. Harry, being the optimist that he was, silently contradicted his Headmaster and bought a one-way ticket to Cardiff where he would obviously find better council. He had intended to go alone, kind of like the ninja finding a master to teach him how to find his 'inner being of balance'. He had not intended his friends to come along with him. They would no doubt bring chaos and confusion to the lives of everyone around them, setting off a chain reaction that would leave to a series of events that would end with the implosion of the universe, maybe even the multi-verse. Or they could just be annoying and distracting. Either way, they shouldn't have followed him.

.:. :.: .:.

And so, Harry found himself sitting in a rather cramped compartment, glowering at the wall across from him, not really aware of what conversations were happening, if indeed they were happening at all. He also didn't know what he would do when he actually got to Cardiff, but it involved a payphone and the yellow pages. Somehow, he didn't think that there would be a source of knowledge listed there, but he could always find a library. Or a good pub. _All adventures start in good pubs_, he quoted to himself from one of Dudley's comic books he'd read that summer. He allowed such a thought for a total of 20 seconds before he started to chuckle. And then laugh. And then laugh louder until he couldn't remember why he was laughing. Everyone in the compartment turned to look at him.

"Harry, you alright?" asked Ron, concerned.

"Ha-ha, yeah I'm, heehee, fine. Just a little stressed."

Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to her book, but Ginny still watched Harry out of the corner of her eye, as if waiting for him to explode. Neville was doing roughly the same thing. Luna was, as usual, not seeming to pay much attention. Ron just patted Harry on the shoulder. "You'll be okay, mate."

The giggle fit over, Harry went right back to glowering, but it took much more effort this time. He soon gave up and tried to think more about what he would do. Should he even be going to Cardiff at all? What if he could find another place to go? Could he afford another trip? The latter question was fairly obvious: yes, he could. There was, after all, a small fortune in Gringott's with his name on it, and surely the wizard banks in Wales had a connection to the wizard banks in England. From there, they could exchange the galleons and sickles into pounds, and go somewhere else.

Yes. That was what he would do.

"Okay, guys, listen up for a second..."

**A/N: Thanks to Celebwen Telcontar for the challenge on her profile. An awesome idea.**

**I hope to update this fairly regularly. ::crosses fingers:: So we'll see how this turns out.**

**Reviews are replied to and appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

The Search for Better Council

Chapter 2

Once Harry had finally gotten his friends' attention and explained the 'plan' with minimal interruptions, he braced himself for all kinds of criticisms. They never came.

"That sounds alright to me, Harry," Neville commented.

"Yeah, that's an okay plan. Take out some money, and figure out where to go from there? That's fine," Ron added.

Hermione had been enthusiastic from the moment harry said the word 'library', and simply beamed. Ginny, who was sitting beside Harry, held his hand and squeezed it, smiling. Luna nodded her head and stared out the window.

Harry sighed in relief and laid his head back on his seat. He wondered if it was all going to be this easy. He glanced at his watch. It was only seven, but he still felt the compulsion to close his eyes and fall asleep.

.:. :.: .:.

Harry awoke to the sound of Hermione's voice in his ear. "Harry, were here."

And indeed they were. The roof of Cardiff Central was already covered with snow, Harry noticed, and big, puffy snowflakes drifted around the group of six as they stepped out into the early morning weather. From Platform 1, they followed the green-lettered signs to the front door so they could get a taxi. This proved a difficult task. They realized only too late that they wouldn't fit in one taxi. They would have to split up.

So they did. The boys took one taxi, and the girls took another, both parties heading to the library.

Naturally, it _would_ be closed at six in the morning.

**A/N: I was very nearly late updating this, and if I weren't very nearly late, this would be longer. I had to babysit. It's my only source of income, and the kid is adorable.**

**As always, please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Search for Better Counsel

Chapter 3

Cathays Library was a huge old building made of stone, set on the corner of a kind of roundabout. There was something about the building that reminded Harry of a cathedral.

Hermione's eyes went wide the second she stepped out of the taxi and Ginny's jaw dropped. Ron simply had his eyebrows raised, but Harry could tell he was really quite impressed at the ancient architecture. Luna stared at the building blankly while Neville stumbled forward, entranced. Everyone followed the clumsy wizard through the doors of the library.

The elderly librarian behind the desk at the front looked up from a bundle of cards as the troupe walked in, and she seemed a bit surprised, as though it were unusual to see teenagers in a library. Hermione saw her and walked up to the desk. But before Hermione could open her mouth the old lady spoke with a slightly suspicious tone. "You're English, aren't you?"

"Um...yes, I am, and I was wondering where my friends and I could find the history section?" Hermione asked, slightly bewildered by the question that had come up first. "It's for a class project."

The lady looked past her to the group of friends. Her eyes squinted a bit when they came to rest on Harry. "Mr. Potter, is it?"

Harry was at the desk beside Hermione in an instant. "You know who I am?" he whispered.

The lady nodded. "Millicent Pegs at your service, Mr. Potter and company. I take it you and your friends aren't actually looking for the history section?"

"No, we just figured it would be the best place to start off..." Hermione began.

"What you're looking for is near the history section, yes. I'll take you there now." And Millicent got up from her chair, revealing that she was wearing a dark blue, pleated dress, and walked down several aisles, the other witches and wizards following in a strict silence. Each of them remembered how it had been in the Hogwarts Library, and basically no talking had been allowed unless it had been a whisper.

The history section was quite large, extending about twenty five feet along the shelves. However it seemed that there was a transition point half way along the row where the titles of books changed from Muggle titles, like _War & Peace,_ to magic titles, like _The Goblin Battles of 1288, Vol. 2.3_ or _How the Giants Left England _and suchlike. Soon enough, it seemed that Ron's curiosity got the better of him. "How do the Muggles not come down this way?" he asked "Wouldn't they notice the titles and stuff like that?"

"After the Muggle books ended, we walked through a wall," Millicent answered. "Or at least, we would have appeared to, had anyone been watching. Where we have now gone is the magic wing of the library. It's not as big as I would like it to be, but its good enough for most people who come this way."

Eventually, the small group came to a cross roads, so to speak, where the aisle before them branched off three ways. Millicent swept quickly around the corner to the right where a gigantic oak door engraved with large vines could be seen up ahead. Millicent reached into a pocket in the folds of her dress and took out a small key. Whispering in Welsh, she tapped the door handles three times each with a rhythm like _dah-dip-di-dah-dah_. There was a sort of rough, sliding sound, as though an old wooden beam was being dragged across the door, letting it fly open with surprising, silent speed. Before them was a circular room, papered in sandy yellow with a few moving portraits on the wall, dark wood baseboards extending a little higher than normal, maroon couches and armchairs in a semi-circular formation before a fireplace, which was not yet lit. There were even a few couches floating, stationary above the witches' and wizards' heads.

"Welcome to the conference room," Millicent said. "I hope it serves you well enough to your satisfaction. Now, I've got to get back to the desk in case someone else needs assistance."

**A/N: It's been close to forever since I've updated. I'm sorry. I was a bit writer's blocked. I do know where this is all going, honestly, I do. I just haven't found all the words for it yet.**


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